|Other offices =[[Governor of Indiana|Governor]] • [[Lieutenant Governor of Indiana|Lieutenant Governor]] • [[Indiana Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] • [[Attorney General of Indiana|Attorney General]] • [[Indiana Treasurer|Treasurer]] • Auditors: [[Indiana Auditor of State|Auditor]] • [[Indiana State Examiner|Examiner]] • [[Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction|Superintendent of Public Instruction]] • [[Indiana Director of Agriculture|Agriculture Director]] • [[Indiana Commissioner of Insurance|Insurance Commissioner]] • [[Indiana Director of Natural Resources|Natural Resources Director]] • [[Indiana Commissioner of Labor|Labor Commissioner]] • [[Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission|Utility Regulatory Commission]]}}{{TOCnestright}}The '''Governor of the State of Indiana''' is an elected Constitutional officer, the head of the Executive branch, and the highest state office in Indiana. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two consecutive terms with at least a four year span before the same individual may hold the office again.

|Other offices =[[Governor of Indiana|Governor]] • [[Lieutenant Governor of Indiana|Lieutenant Governor]] • [[Indiana Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] • [[Attorney General of Indiana|Attorney General]] • [[Indiana Treasurer|Treasurer]] • Auditors: [[Indiana Auditor of State|Auditor]] • [[Indiana State Examiner|Examiner]] • [[Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction|Superintendent of Public Instruction]] • [[Indiana Director of Agriculture|Agriculture Director]] • [[Indiana Commissioner of Insurance|Insurance Commissioner]] • [[Indiana Director of Natural Resources|Natural Resources Director]] • [[Indiana Commissioner of Labor|Labor Commissioner]] • [[Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission|Utility Regulatory Commission]]}}{{TOCnestright}}The '''Governor of the State of Indiana''' is an elected Constitutional officer, the head of the Executive branch, and the highest state office in Indiana. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two consecutive terms with at least a four year span before the same individual may hold the office again.

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As of May 2013, [[Indiana]] is one of 24 Republican [[state government trifectas]].

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{{State trifecta status|state=Indiana|control=Republican}}

==Current officeholder==

==Current officeholder==

The 50th and current governor of Indiana is [[Republican]] [[Mike Pence]]. Pence won election on November 6, 2012 and was sworn-in on January 14, 2013.

The 50th and current governor of Indiana is [[Republican]] [[Mike Pence]]. Pence won election on November 6, 2012 and was sworn-in on January 14, 2013.

The Governor of the State of Indiana is an elected Constitutional officer, the head of the Executive branch, and the highest state office in Indiana. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two consecutive terms with at least a four year span before the same individual may hold the office again.

Qualifications

Qualifications for the governorship are set forth in Article 5, Section 7.

To become governor of Indiana, a candidate must have been a United States citizen and lived within Indiana for the period of five consecutive years before the election. The candidate must also be at least 30 years old when sworn into office. Under Section 8, the governor may not hold any other state or federal office during his term, and must resign from any such position before being eligible to be sworn in as governor.

Before taking the office, the candidate must swear an oath of office administered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Indiana, promising to uphold the constitution and laws of Indiana.

Elections

Indiana elects governors in the Presidential elections, that is, in leap years. For Indiana 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 are all gubernatorial election years. Legally, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the second Monday in the January following an election. Thus, January 8, 2013 and January 9, 2017 are inaugural days (§ 9).

If two candidates are tied, a joint session of the General Assembly shall cast ballots to determine the winner, pursuant to Article 5, Section 5.

Vacancies

If the governor becomes incapacitated then the lieutenant governor of Indiana becomes acting-governor until his recovery. If the governor resigns, dies, or is impeached, tried, and convicted, then the lieutenant governor becomes governor.

If the office of the lieutenant governor is vacant, then the Senate Pro-Tempore becomes governor. If the office of Senate Pro-Tempore is also vacant then the senate must elect a new Pro-Tempore to fill the governor's office.

The governor may temporarily step aside if he communicates that he is unable to discharge the office to both the President Pro Tem of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The same two individuals may file a petition with the Indiana Supreme Court asking for a hearing of fitness for office for the Governor. In that case, the hearing must be held within 48 hours and the Supreme Court's decision is final.

If the Governor and Lieutenant Governor both vacate their offices, the General Assembly must meet within 48 hours and elect an Acting Governor, who must belong to the same party as the elected Governor, by a simple majority in each chamber. Until then, the Acting Governor shall be, in order of succession:

the President Pro Tem of the Senate

the Speaker of the House of Representatives

the State Treasurer

the State Auditor

the Secretary of State

the State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Duties

The governor of Indiana has wide-ranging executive authority to manage the government of the state and is the chief executive of the executive branch of the state government. These powers are established in the Indiana Constitution. The governor works in concert with the Indiana General Assembly and the Supreme Court of Indiana to govern the state. As an independent branch, the governor has the ability to balance the other branches. Among these abilities is the power to veto legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly. If vetoed, a bill is returned to the General Assembly for reconsideration where they may override the veto with a supermajority. The governor also has the ability to call a special session of the General Assembly, who can otherwise not assemble longer than is permitted by the constitution.

The governor can influence the courts by using the appointment power. The Judicial Nominating Commission creates a list of three candidates from which the governor chooses one who will serve on the state courts. This authority gives the governor considerable sway in setting the makeup of the judiciary.

Among his other powers, the governor can call out the state defense force or the Indiana National Guard in times of emergency or disaster. The governor is also charged with the enforcement of all the state's laws and the Indiana Code which is carried out through the Indiana State Police. The governor also has the ability to pardon or commute the sentence of any criminal offenders except in cases of treason or impeachment.

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

Periodically addressing the General Assembly concerning the State of the State and making recommendations for prudent courses of action (§ 13).

Requiring written information from any administrative officer of the state concerning their job and the conditions of their institutions (§ 15).

Granting pardons and reprieves, in consultation with a special legislative commission when called for by law. The privilege of granting pardons does not grant to impeachment or treason, though the Governor may suspend the execution of a treason sentence until the legislative sits again and reviews the case (§ 17).

Filling vacancies in the Courts and in other state offices when the manner for doing so is not otherwise set forth in law, and, when the General Assembly is in recess, making any vacancy appointments that would normally be the prerogative of the legislature (§ 18).

Reconvening the General Assembly at a place other than its normal chambers for extraordinary reasons (§ 19).

Divisions

The website of the Governor of Indiana details the following two divisions of the office:

Office of Disaster Recovery: "established by Governor Daniels to lead recovery efforts following a series of storms that struck portions of Indiana in late May and early June 2008."[1]

Office of Federal Grants and Procurement: Gov. Daniels states he created the Office of Federal Grants and Procurement (OFGP) by Executive Order on my first day in office in order to increase significantly the amount of federal dollars coming to our state."[2]

State budget

The Governor's Office budget was $2,207,967 for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.[3]

2013

2012

Historical officeholders

Since 1816, Indiana has had 50 governors. Of the 50, 21 have been Democrats, 22 have been Republicans, 3 were Democratic-Republicans, 3 were Whigs, and 1 was Independent. Prior to becoming a state on December 11, 1816, three men - William Henry Harrison, John Gibson, and Thomas Posey - served as Governor of the Indiana Territory from 1800-1816.[5]

#

Name

Took office

Left office

Party

1

Jonathan Jennings

November 7, 1816

September 12, 1822

Democratic-Republican

2

Ratliff Boon

September 12, 1822

December 5, 1822

Democratic-Republican

3

William Hendricks

December 5, 1822

February 12, 1825

Democratic-Republican

4

James Brown Ray

February 12, 1825

December 7, 1831

Independent

5

Noah Noble

December 7, 1831

December 6, 1837

Whig

6

David Wallace

December 6, 1837

December 9, 1840

Whig

7

Samuel Bigger

December 9, 1840

December 6, 1843

Whig

8

James Whitcomb

December 6, 1843

December 26, 1848

Democratic

9

Paris Chipman Dunning

December 26, 1848

December 5, 1849

Democratic

10

Joseph Albert Wright

December 5, 1849

January 12, 1857

Democratic

11

Ashbel Parsons Willard

January 12, 1857

October 4, 1860

Democratic

12

Abram Adams Hammond

October 4, 1860

January 14, 1861

Democratic

13

Henry Smith Lane

January 14, 1861

January 16, 1861

Republican

14

Oliver Perry Morton

January 16, 1861

January 23, 1867

Republican

15

Conrad Baker

January 23, 1867

January 13, 1873

Republican

16

Thomas Andrews Hendricks

January 13, 1873

January 8, 1877

Democratic

17

James Douglas Williams

January 8, 1877

November 20, 1880

Democratic

18

Isaac Pusey Gray

November 20, 1880

January 10, 1881

Democratic

19

Albert Gallatin Porter

January 10, 1881

January 12, 1885

Republican

20

Isaac Pusey Gray

January 12, 1885

January 14, 1889

Democratic

21

Alvin Peterson Hovey

January 14, 1889

November 23, 1891

Republican

22

Ira Joy Chase

November 23, 1891

January 9, 1893

Republican

23

Claude Matthews

January 9, 1893

January 11, 1897

Democratic

24

James Atwell Mount

January 11, 1897

January 14, 1901

Republican

25

Winfield Taylor Durbin

January 14, 1901

January 9, 1905

Republican

26

James Frank Hanly

January 9, 1905

January 11, 1909

Republican

27

Thomas Riley Marshall

January 11, 1909

January 13, 1913

Democratic

28

Samuel Moffett Ralston

January 13, 1913

January 8, 1917

Democratic

29

James Putnam Goodrich

January 8, 1917

January 10, 1921

Republican

30

Warren Terry McCray

January 10, 1921

April 30, 1924

Republican

31

Emmett Forrest Branch

April 30, 1924

January 12, 1925

Republican

32

Edward L. Jackson

January 12, 1925

January 14, 1929

Republican

33

Harry Guyer Leslie

January 14, 1929

January 9, 1933

Republican

34

Paul Vories McNutt

January 9, 1933

January 11, 1937

Democratic

35

Maurice Clifford Townsend

January 11, 1937

January 13, 1941

Democratic

36

Henry Frederick Schricker

January 13, 1941

January 8, 1945

Democratic

37

Ralph F. Gates

January 8, 1945

January 10, 1949

Republican

38

Henry Frederick Schricker

January 10, 1949

January 12, 1953

Democratic

39

George N. Craig

January 12, 1953

January 14, 1957

Republican

40

Harold W. Handley

January 14, 1957

January 9, 1961

Republican

41

Matthew E. Welsh

January 9, 1961

January 11, 1965

Democratic

42

Roger D. Branigin

January 11, 1965

January 13, 1969

Democratic

43

Edgar D. Whitcomb

January 13, 1969

January 9, 1973

Republican

44

Otis R. Bowen

January 9, 1973

January 13, 1981

Republican

45

Robert D. Orr

January 13, 1981

January 9, 1989

Republican

46

Evan Bayh

January 9, 1989

January 13, 1997

Democratic

47

Frank O'Bannon

January 13, 1997

September 13, 2003

Democratic

48

Joseph E. Kernan

September 13, 2003

January 10, 2005

Democratic

49

Mitch Daniels

January 10, 2005

January 14, 2013

Republican

50

Mike Pence

January 14, 2013

Present

Republican

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, Indiana had Democratic governors in office for the first 13 years while there were Republican governors in office for the last nine years. Indiana was under Republican trifectas for the last three years of the study period.

Across the country, there were 493 years of Democratic governors (44.82%) and 586 years of Republican governors (53.27%) from 1992-2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states have divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.